I’m sharing this IndieGOGO campaign from Girl Scouts of Western Washington. I’m not sharing it because Girl Scouts of Western Washington hasn’t met their goal to raise back the $100,000 donation a narrow-minded person asked for returned after learning that Girl Scouts is #ForEVERYGirl and supports transgender girls.

Quite the opposite – I’m so proud of what they have raised instead – $337,892! That allows more than 1600 girls from low-income families to participate in Girl Scouts. This touches me very personally, even though this is a council I’ve never had any interaction with before this campaign

I was one of those girls that needed this kind of help. I had to have “camperships” to go to Girl Scout camp nearly every year, and I’m sure there were years that I couldn’t have gone had my aunt not worked for the council & pulled strings to fit me into whatever session had a cancellation. There were years that my leader paid the $8 registration fee so I could stay in the troop. When I was having problems with my step-mom and grounded, I was still thankfully allowed to go to my weekly Girl Scout meetings. I was taught skills I’d never have learned at home or school.

I had the same leader from my first Brownie meeting in 1st grade to my last Senior meeting in 12th grade. I wish I’d done better to keep in touch with her when I went to college because she’ll never know how immensely grateful I am for her to have given me one of the few normal, positive, stable things in my life growing up (though I’m sure she had an inkling).

I have a… different… relationship with my mom than most women. But I have to say that one of the best things she ever did for me was get me involved with Girl Scouts, even though she hadn’t had a great experience in Scouts herself. She let me try.

And I found a place where I could be myself. It didn’t matter if I wore 2nd hand clothes, or had a weird haircut, or couldn’t bring snack sometimes. I never had to worry about fitting in. Or being popular. I just had to be friendly, and open, and thoughtful, and strive to serve others who needed more than I did, and be the best person I could be. Girl Scouts was always a safe place where no one judged anyone and we accepted everyone for who they were, no matter where they came from, what challenges they faced, what special needs they had, or what went on in their lives outside of our time together.

Girl Scouts HAS to be #ForEVERYGirl. Every girl needs some of that kind of positivity. Some don’t always get it from family or school or friends. They need it from somewhere. And I’m so happy to have contributed to this campaign to help hopefully change the lives of 1,689 girls for the better and return the favor that Girl Scouts did for me to them.

We don’t have to tell you that the Girl Scout motto is “Be Prepared”. The motto, as explained in the 1947 Girl Scout Handbook, means “A Girl Scout is ready to help out wherever she is needed. Willingness to serve is not enough; you must know how to do the job well, even in an emergency.” One of the things we can often forget in our quest to be prepared are that rips and tears can happen, and sometimes a safety pin is not enough!

Here at Girl Scout Guide we were given a Quick Stitch Sewing Kit complimentary to review. Having a sewing kit on hand is very important in all activities and travel – from troop camping trips to day trips, weekly meetings to awards ceremonies. You never know when a badge might come loose or an inconvenient hole may need a few quick stitches on the trail.

The kit we received was actually missing it’s thimble, which isn’t a big deal to us because none of us use one, but it might be a big deal to you if yours comes up missing.

Usage

For all that’s contained within this kit, it’s remarkably lightweight. It doesn’t add any bulk to a day pack or even a larger purse, though it might be somewhat cumbersome for a fanny pack or smaller purse if you travel light on troop outings. It is relatively thin, so it can easily tuck into some pockets out of the way within those larger bags.

A distinct downside is that there’s only one lonely safety pin. Being the all-stars of any travel emergency, safety pins are invaluable when on the go, so we recommend tossing a few extra into your kit before heading out. While small, there’s still plenty of room within the zippered walls of this kit to hold some extras.

The stainless steel scissors are a HUGE bonus and very easily justify the price. Yes, you can get less expensive travel sewing kits, but those flimsy scissors won’t work if some serious repairs are needed while out with your troop on a hike, day trip, or other situation where you may not have a real pair of scissors around otherwise. The seem ripper is also handy to clean up a mending job and not necessarily have to do more serious repairs once you get back home. It’ll be like it never happened!

The variety of threads is nice, though they are rather small spools. They include your basic primary colors, the required black and white, and even some pastels and browns to cover your bases. There’s no orange or purple, but if you find yourself using more oranges and purples and less of the other colors, you could probably substitute some spools from cheaper travel kits or throw in a wound bobbin from home.

The zipper is secure, so even if you include some other odds and ends like we’ve recommended, they won’t end up falling out all over your bag waiting to stab you or get tangled up in a zipper. The kit has hard sides, so you don’t have to worry about those pointy scissors poking through either.

Verdict

Whether you’re going out for the day with your troop on an adventure, or spending a few days reconnecting with nature on a camping trip, we highly recommend having this Quick Stitch Sewing Kit on hand. If the size is a little big for the type of bags you like to travel with, it’s also a handy item to have with your regular meeting supplies or “backstage” for an awards ceremony to fix up your uniform and patches in a pinch. The price might be a little high for you, but it’s actually on the less expensive spectrum of kits with comparable items inside that are on the market, so it is the best value for your troop budget dollars.

Halloween inspires so many delightfully devilish crafting projects that it is no wonder there should be a celebration! Enter to win the Cricut Halloween Giveaway, where you could win a Cricut gift card for $50, $75 or even $100! Winning designs will be posted on the Cricut Facebook page!

Here are some designs that I found on the Cricut site to get your creative juices flowing. If you need to stock up on your Cricut supplies in order to give your designs that extra bit of spook, great news—Cricut offers free shipping on all orders of $31 or more through 10/31!